Shame on You!

An open letter to Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie

Jarrod pointing a generation of Queensland children to a life of crime

To Mr Jarrod Bleijie MP,

Your government took a disturbing step today in the fight against crime by announcing that you would bring in a policy to name and same repeat juvenile offenders in an effort to stop reoffending. On the outside this doesn’t seem like a bad idea but even a first year sociologist (or teacher of sociology such as myself) knows that this policy is far more dangerous that it sounds.

Firstly, the study of criminology is far more complicated than you are making out. Crime is not simply a joyful activity carried out by delinquent children that can be cured by a bit of community head shaking. Crime is a more deeply rooted social issue that often reflects a lack of education and care, with the criminals often committing crimes to meet basic needs such as food. While pretending to be tough on children by plastering their name all over the newspaper may win you votes with the uninformed, I expect politicians to make informed decisions that reflect expert advice rather than decisions that grab a good headline.

Secondly, the unintended consequence of this naming and shaming is to create a generation of kids who will only ever be criminals. I will put it as simply as I can so that you will understand: labelling someone a criminal majorly increases their chance of committing a crime. Moreover, according to sociology.about.com:

“Social research indicates that those who have negative labels usually have lower self-images, are more likely to reject themselves, and may even act more deviantly as a result of the label. Unfortunately, people who accept the labeling of others—be it correct or incorrect—have a difficult time changing their opinions of the labeled person, even in light of evidence to the contrary.”

Thus, you would like to condemn any repeat young offender in Queensland to a life of hardship because they will never be seen as anything but a criminal. What a way to stop crime: create a whole generation of criminals instead! Maybe they can rename Queensland the “Criminal State” as opposed to the “Sunshine State”.

Lastly, you clearly lack any sense of empathy. To deliberately shame someone is never helpful and can be very harmful. No one likes to feel a sense of shame, be it about a private or public act that we have done. That feeling of being less than you ought to be or acting in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable is never pleasant. I’m sure you have a memory or event that you can easily recall that makes you feel a sense of shame.

Spend a minute thinking about that memory.

Did you feel sick to the stomach? Did you wish you could relive that moment and make some better decisions? If you answered yes, then imagine living with that in a public way for the rest of your life.

So I hope you rethink your policy on naming and shaming young offenders. Any basic sociologist will tell you it is a bad idea and being a teacher it makes me sick to my stomach. It is clear that young criminals need our care and support not a public flogging to give you good headlines. Try implementing a policy that does this and it would be money well spent.

Yours sincerely,

James Purkis